Drivers warned as almost half of all speed cameras around the UK do not work properly
Almost half of all fixed speed cameras are inactive
PA
New data has found that almost one in two speed cameras across England and Wales are not operational.
A staggering 46 per cent of all fixed speed cameras are not working, which could mean that thousands of motorists who break the limit won’t be caught.
All eight fixed speed cameras in Northamptonshire were inactive, while the Welsh county of Gwent had just one active speed camera out of 31 in place.
The research, which came from FOI requests, found that six of 13 police forces had over half of their speed cameras standing inactive.
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Derbyshire had the most speed cameras out of action than any other region with 93, with just 20 speed cameras capable of catching motorists breaking the law.
Essex and Cornwall were also hotspots for speed cameras not working, with each having at least 40 per cent of cameras out of action.
Only two areas had all speed cameras working, with Dyfed-Powys and Suffolk, although they only had four cameras in each area.
Gary Digva, founder of Road Angel, said: “It’s shocking to see how many speed cameras across the country are standing inactive and are letting speeding motorists get away with driving dangerously.
“In total with all of the police forces who responded to our Freedom of Information request, there are 1,069 fixed speed cameras across the country. Out of this, there are 496 inactive speed cameras.
“This means that almost half of speed cameras on our roads are out of operation (46 per cent).”
There have been over one million speed awareness courses taken between 2014 and 2021.
Around 45 per cent of cars exceeded the limit on motorways last year, with a further 50 per cent admitted to breaking the speed limit on 30mph roads.
Some of the largest areas of the country, including Mersey, West Midlands and West Mercia, all had a minimum of 80 per cent of speed cameras working.
Road safety experts are now calling on the Government and police forces to ensure all speed cameras are working to limit the number of accidents on the road.
Breaking the speed limit was a contributing factor to 27 per cent of fatal collisions in 2020 and 16 per cent of collisions leading to a serious injury.
Gary Digva continued, saying: “We are urging local authorities and police forces to ensure speed cameras are fully working to catch speeding motorists who may be driving recklessly by breaking the limit.
“This in turn will help to reduce the number of dangerous drivers and help to keep our roads safer for everyone.
“With such high numbers of inactive devices, thousands of drivers are getting away with speeding every day.
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None of the speed cameras in Northamptonshire were working properly
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“The UK police force, councils and the Government must take action on making sure these fixed speed cameras are fully operational.”
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